Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., says voters disdain the elite media because it tries to intentionally “deceive and mislead” them, and create an “intentional disconnect” between the media and Middle America.
“It’s an intentional disconnect because they know they don’t have the people. And when you don’t have the people, you have to deceive and mislead them,” Republican Rep. Dave Brat told the Washington Examiner.
“It’s intentional, and it’s meant to mislead the voters. But the voters are catching on, and now some of the presidential candidates are actually gaining votes when the press attacks them because it’s so bad,” he added. “That’s sad for our country, when one of our major institutions, the press, is so mistrusted that the voters will actually vote against what they write.”
As to where he goes for news, Brat said, “I always look at Drudge and Breitbart to see what’s on fire. I read the big hill pamphlets, Politico, RollCall, The Hill. And I read the major publications, the Washington Examiner, Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times and I try to read all of my local news.”
“All of that seems to serve as a pretty accurate barometer of what’s going on,” he said.
In 2014, the Glen Allen congressman became the first person in history to defeat a sitting majority leader, prevailing over Rep. Eric Cantor in the Republican primary by stressing a need to stem illegal immigration. That event foreshadowed the issue’s rise to prominence in this year’s presidential election.
“I brought immigration up over a year and a half ago, and I was openly mocked and ridiculed,” Brat said, particularly by D.C. media blogs. “The media would call me names. None of that is happening anymore.”
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“When you now have 70 percent of Republican voters expecting a strong answer on that issue, I think it’s easy to see who was wrong,” he said, a reference to the number of voters who currently support “outside” candidates in the Republican presidential primary.
